"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes the freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and
the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and
belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to
have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression,
that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of
friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the
Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have
determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in
cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and
observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms
is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a
common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that
every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration
constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect
for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and
international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance,
both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of
territories under their jurisdiction.
Article
I
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article
2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of
the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or
territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust,
non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article
3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of
person.
Article
4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and
the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article
5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
Article
6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person
before the law.
Article
7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal
protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and
against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article
8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the
competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted
him by the constitution or by law.
Article
9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.
Article
10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his
rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article
11
- Everyone
charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until
proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all
the guarantees necessary for his defence.
- No
one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or
omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or
international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier
penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal
offence was committed.
Article
12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his
privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and
reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.
Article
13
- Everyone
has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of
each State.
- Everyone
has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to
his country.
Article
14
- Everyone
has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from
persecution.
- This
right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising
from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations.
Article
15
- Everyone
has the right to a nationality.
- No
one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right
to change his nationality.
Article
16
- Men
and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or
religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled
to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
- Marriage
shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending
spouses.
- The
family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is
entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article
17
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in
association with others.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article
18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article
19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers.
Article
20
- Everyone
has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
- No
one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article
21
- Everyone
has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or
through freely chosen representatives.
- Everyone
has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
- The
will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this
will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be
by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by
equivalent free voting procedures.
Article
22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social
security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and
international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and
resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights
indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article
23
- Everyone
has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
- Everyone,
without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
- Everyone
who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for
himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and
supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
- Everyone
has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his
interests.
Article
24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including
reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article
25
- Everyone
has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and
well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security
in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or
other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
- Motherhood
and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children,
whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article
26
- Everyone
has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the
elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally
available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the
basis of merit.
- Education
shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to
the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It
shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United
Nations for the maintenance of peace.
- Parents
have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to
their children.
Article
27
- Everyone
has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community,
to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
- Everyone
has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests
resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he
is the author.
Article
28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in
which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully
realized.
Article
29
- Everyone
has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development
of his personality is possible.
- In
the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to
such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of
securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others
and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the
general welfare in a democratic society.
- These
rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes
and principles of the United Nations.
Article
30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying
for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to
perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set
forth herein.
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